Poverty: can we end it? Why isn't it declining with all of the aid provided, organizations and individuals involved, resources available? Why should we care?
Poverty is restricted access to basic needs for survival and there are about 3 billion people living in poverty, living on less than $2 today. Does this seem right? Children, my age, all around the world are being driven into child slavery, becoming soldiers, and hard labor, just so their family can survive the day. This doesn’t seem fair considering the way most of us live in Canada. When I think about the issue of poverty, it scares me. How can we stop it? What impact can I make? Where do you start? Can we stop it? There are so many questions that are unanswered.
It is estimated that if $19 billion is put into poverty, we can eliminate global hunger and malnutrition. So why can’t this happen? Countries like the United States are putting trillions of dollars into military and defense tools to protect their country, this seems silly to me. I think there should be less money spent on war and more money trying to help people be self-sufficient.
Many people volunteer, and there are organizations working and providing aid to poverty run areas. There are contributing factors, which make their efforts less successful. A lot of money needs to be put into it, in order for the change to become effective. Global warming is a key factor because crops are getting smaller and harder to maintain, so food is getting even more scarce. Also in many areas it is not just the lack of food, diseases and illnesses have a higher rate of spreading because healthcare is so poor. The last factor is the absence of education.
I think in order for Poverty to end, we need to put more into educating children, teaching people how to be more self-sufficient, and trying to make a real impact on people. Poverty is one of those things that can seem almost impossible, but if it’s done with a lot help, I think it can be achieved.
I thought this was a very interesting read. I was blown away by some of the statistics that we saw in the booklet that Ms. Nelson handed out, such as we spend almost as much on pet food in Europe and North America as we could be spending on eradicating poverty for everyone on the globe. It's this kind of borderline "ridiculous" statistic that stands out to me because it really does put into perspective where money in the world today is going, versus where it could be going. I think we're all in agreement that pet food money could be better put towards helping a dying individual in need.
But the whole idea of poverty is, I hate to say it, but one I believe is engrained into our culture; our psyche, if you will. We as a human race, I would venture to suggest, are almost "used" to the idea of poverty. The disparity between the rich and the poor isn't something that is historically new. If we look at governments in history, we see various empires, monarchies, republics, and dictatorships—all of these governments, save perhaps a republic, have inherent economic stances that favor the extremely wealthy and disadvantage those who are poor. Historical empires, such as that of Ancient Rome, were quite used to the idea of slaves attending to the aristocracy. European monarchies have also quite readily accustomed to the idea of the aristocracy occupying a place in high society, rubbing elbows with various nobility, and scoffing down at those who were the poorest of the poor; I could even venture to say impoverished. Even in the rather modern "republic", we've seen great disparities between the mega-wealthy and the dangerously-poor. Statistics in the document that we went over in class have pointed to America as a prime example, where even today, we see 17% of all children in the USA live under the poverty line. I guess what I'm trying to say is that our race has been, throughout recorded history, very accustomed to accepting the fact that there will be people in poverty, and there will be people who are very wealthy.
I think the fact that we're "used to poverty" can point to a reason as to why poverty is still pervasive today. I would venture to suggest that there is a certain latency between everybody that contemplates the issue of poverty. They are often dismissive—"Poverty has always been a part of life," I'm sure some say. I think poverty isn't declining because people are "fine" with it not declining. We are also part of a race that worries about their own survival before the survival of others. We've always been a sort of "every-man-for-themselves" race. Biologically, starting from primate stage, I mean. I suggest that people are fine to brush off poverty and not add to the aid being given because they don't care as long as it's not them who's being affected.
We must care because, as I've discussed previously, I don't really think anyone else does. Of course I'm making a massive generalization, but I'd be willing to bet that for the mostpart, the world of today is content to allow the idea of poverty to slip their minds. If they won't deal with poverty then, who will? The answer has to be us. We've been educated; we now have a responsibility to act. We know the cold hard facts, we've seen the chilling numbers, and we don't like what we see. We, as a group of people, need to care about those who are in poverty because we don't want to tolerate the death of a human being from PREVENTABLE causes. The most disgusting part of these statistics is the fact that most of poverty-related causes of death didn't have to happen in the first place. We care because we accept that there is a certain standard of life—everyone deserves a chance.
I agree with Denomie when she says that the path out of poverty is education. In educating those who are in need, we give them a stable source of income that they know will arrive at a fixed time bi-weekly, or however their salaries are devised out. No longer are they fighting to make it to the end of the day, but they have something that is sustainable. They don't need to fight. They need just continue on. By ending poverty via education, we end generations upon generations of struggle.
We, the world, have enough wealth to eradicate poverty. We have enough resources to supply everyone with necessities. We can make the changes. So why is it that we haven’t? Why don’t we demand such action from our world leaders? Because the people don’t know their own power!
It is up to all of us to demand what we want. In this case, to demand budget reforms. But do we? Some of us do, but most of us don’t. In order to succeed in making a change we need two very essential components- unity and commitment. So why do we lack these necessary components of change? In my opinion, it is because of our familiarity and unfamiliarity with a cause.
With the issue of poverty in mind, our familiarity with the cause is the fact that we are so “used to” the concept as a regularity in global society, just like Brogan so perfectly explained. I will not re-state what he already has, but simply reinforce that this is a huge component in the standstill of poverty. It has extensive history as being an accepted part of societies. Because the wealthy are accustomed to this, they do not use their power to change it.
The other key factor that needs to be addressed is the unfamiliarity with poverty in societies. Where extreme wealth exists people’s day-to-day lives go by without even considering the state of other people’s situations. Wealth is plentiful in places like Rossland and it is in these communities where people are not exposed first hand to the horrific effects and amounts of poverty. This lack of contact with those in dire need allows the average one of us to forget about the issue of poverty on a daily basis. Occasionally we are reminded when we receive information about our sponsor children in the mail or receive phone calls from charities, but the average day is free of such reminders. The ignorance, forgetfulness, and/or lack of exposure is a major issue because it is the wealth and voice of the sheltered and disconnected that we need to make a change.
Like both Brogan and Denomie, I also believe education is the key to ending poverty. However, they both mentioned educating those in poverty to help them climb up out of it, but once again I believe there are two aspects that need to be addressed; “their” education and “our” education. They have both addressed “their” education, but in order to fully eradicate the issue of poverty I believe the education of the wealthy must also change. Education must rid the wealthy of unfamiliarity and connect them with global issues.
Poverty can be beat, the question is are people willing to help? I think that people see poverty as such a huge issue that it scares them away, they feel it’s too big to be stopped. There are 1.8 billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day, there are thousands of children who can’t attend school because they need to support their family by doing dangerous, hard labour.
The facts in this booklet about poverty are very surprising, and also very sad. We are so privileged to live in Canada, and I always try to remember that, except sometimes it is easy to forget that our issues are nothing compared to the 800 million people who go to bed hungry every night. I think it is absolutely disgusting that $17 000 000 000 are being spent on pet food in Europe and United states alone every year. It would only take an annual investment of $19 000 000 000 to end poverty. Obviously we need to feed our pets, but don’t you think that some of that money could be better spent on ending world poverty? Brogan I agree, it really does open my eyes about how money is spent in the world and how it could be put to many more better uses.
In some ways poverty is declining, but other factors are making it rise in some places. The amount of people living on less than $1.25 a day dropped 4 billion between 1990 and 2005. Yet there are factors that are reversing the actions of aid organizations. The economic crisis that the world is in is expected to push more people into extreme poverty in Asia, Eastern Europe and sub- saharan africa by 2015. There are many organizations working to help eradicate poverty, but there are some charities that keep nearly all of the donations for playing employees and advertisement. The key is to find a charity and where your money is really going to go.
I believe that all of you are right about education, it is proven that girls who are educated are much less likely to become pregnant very early in life and be dependent on a husband. If girls are educated they can also contribute more to the income for a family. Sam I like your point about educating the wealthy people, if they aren’t educated on the issues then they how will they be able to help?
Brogan I think you are right about if we don’t care then who will? Of course we don’t know that for sure, but it makes sense. If people really did care enough then the issue wouldn’t be so bad. Many people may care but they don’t do anything, that’s why we need to take action. We know about the issues, know we need to teach others about them too. The more people educated on the issues, the more people likely to take action.
Poverty, it has always excisted, but in todays world it has become more prevalent and there is more of it now than ever before other than during wars and other conflicts.
Poverty can be wiped out but I don't think it will. I Realize that is a terrible thing to say but i believe it is the truth. In 2012 the top 100 richest people collectivly made 240 billion dollars, if they dolated just one years profit it is enough to erase extreme poverty. That is just a crazy thing to think about. Will that every happen, I doubt it because greed consumes people, and there is no way that those 100 people would give up that money. As much as I would like to blame everything on the rich being greedy, I can not.
Government and society help continue the problem by casting out those in poverty, and by not helping get those people back on their feet and back into society.
As well, there is the organizations who provide aid or claim to. They need money to pay there workers as well as get a pretty good salary, and they need money to run the company. There are also scams that say they give money or aid, but really just pocket the cash and walk away. So all that money people think is going to help the impovrised may actually not be.
Some people just don't believe it's their problem so they don't do anything about it. It might not be their problem but hopefully people have a little caring, dignity, and compassion for those less fortunate.
I still don't believe we will ever remove poverty, but hopefully one day I will be proven wrong.
The cycle/trend of poverty worldwide is a very saddening one to see. We live in a world that is growing exponentially. World leaders recognize this, and have harnessed it. Many countries financial resources aren’t being invested near as much as they should be in eradicating poverty. Instead, money is being invested in expanding natural resources in an attempt to make the country richer through exportation. Unfortunately, this often times leads to an imbalance of wealth and power in a country. Resulting in the rich becoming richer, and the poor being driven deeper into poverty.
I think it is unfair to ask why poverty isn’t declining with all of the aid, organizations and resources available. We've all seen the statistics of the millions of dollars being poured into poverty eradication through charities and organizations etc. We also know poverty is the reality of billions of people around the globe. Therefore, instead I think we should be asking ourselves this: Why is our population continuing to grow at such an alarming rate, when we know this planet has a carrying capacity. By continuing to grow at this rate, we are guaranteeing that there will be billions of the future generations in poverty. In my opinion, the reason poverty isn’t decreasing isn’t for lack of effort! It is because the worlds population is increasing too much too quickly. This trend puts more people into poverty than can be supported by organizations. So what can we do to stop this trend? As it turns out, education is the not-so-surprising answer.
In this video Hans Rosling explains that as countries are becoming safer, and people more educated, family sizes are getting smaller, and life spans longer. (If you have a couple of minutes, I will post the video link below, it is a very worthwhile watch.) As people, women in particular, in developing countries are getting more education (very much due to organizations) family sizes are getting smaller, life expectancies are going up, and deaths related to HIV/AIDs are going down. As Hans says in the video, the only way to stop population growth is to have small families. It is my opinion that once the population levels off, we will be able to bring down poverty levels substantially. Thankfully, as many organizations are bringing help and education into developing countries, this population goal is becoming more realistic.
In conclusion, I think there are tremendous leaps being made towards eradicating poverty. Just because these leaps aren’t visible in statistics does not mean they are not real. True and permanent changes happen over time, as a result of much hard work. It is young people like ourselves that will be carrying on this work, and seeing it through. I believe we can and will end poverty.
Poverty is restricted access to basic needs for survival and there are about 3 billion people living in poverty, living on less than $2 today. Does this seem right? Children, my age, all around the world are being driven into child slavery, becoming soldiers, and hard labor, just so their family can survive the day. This doesn’t seem fair considering the way most of us live in Canada. When I think about the issue of poverty, it scares me. How can we stop it? What impact can I make? Where do you start? Can we stop it? There are so many questions that are unanswered.
ReplyDeleteIt is estimated that if $19 billion is put into poverty, we can eliminate global hunger and malnutrition. So why can’t this happen? Countries like the United States are putting trillions of dollars into military and defense tools to protect their country, this seems silly to me. I think there should be less money spent on war and more money trying to help people be self-sufficient.
Many people volunteer, and there are organizations working and providing aid to poverty run areas. There are contributing factors, which make their efforts less successful. A lot of money needs to be put into it, in order for the change to become effective. Global warming is a key factor because crops are getting smaller and harder to maintain, so food is getting even more scarce. Also in many areas it is not just the lack of food, diseases and illnesses have a higher rate of spreading because healthcare is so poor. The last factor is the absence of education.
I think in order for Poverty to end, we need to put more into educating children, teaching people how to be more self-sufficient, and trying to make a real impact on people. Poverty is one of those things that can seem almost impossible, but if it’s done with a lot help, I think it can be achieved.
Part 1
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting read. I was blown away by some of the statistics that we saw in the booklet that Ms. Nelson handed out, such as we spend almost as much on pet food in Europe and North America as we could be spending on eradicating poverty for everyone on the globe. It's this kind of borderline "ridiculous" statistic that stands out to me because it really does put into perspective where money in the world today is going, versus where it could be going. I think we're all in agreement that pet food money could be better put towards helping a dying individual in need.
But the whole idea of poverty is, I hate to say it, but one I believe is engrained into our culture; our psyche, if you will. We as a human race, I would venture to suggest, are almost "used" to the idea of poverty. The disparity between the rich and the poor isn't something that is historically new. If we look at governments in history, we see various empires, monarchies, republics, and dictatorships—all of these governments, save perhaps a republic, have inherent economic stances that favor the extremely wealthy and disadvantage those who are poor. Historical empires, such as that of Ancient Rome, were quite used to the idea of slaves attending to the aristocracy. European monarchies have also quite readily accustomed to the idea of the aristocracy occupying a place in high society, rubbing elbows with various nobility, and scoffing down at those who were the poorest of the poor; I could even venture to say impoverished. Even in the rather modern "republic", we've seen great disparities between the mega-wealthy and the dangerously-poor. Statistics in the document that we went over in class have pointed to America as a prime example, where even today, we see 17% of all children in the USA live under the poverty line. I guess what I'm trying to say is that our race has been, throughout recorded history, very accustomed to accepting the fact that there will be people in poverty, and there will be people who are very wealthy.
I think the fact that we're "used to poverty" can point to a reason as to why poverty is still pervasive today. I would venture to suggest that there is a certain latency between everybody that contemplates the issue of poverty. They are often dismissive—"Poverty has always been a part of life," I'm sure some say. I think poverty isn't declining because people are "fine" with it not declining. We are also part of a race that worries about their own survival before the survival of others. We've always been a sort of "every-man-for-themselves" race. Biologically, starting from primate stage, I mean. I suggest that people are fine to brush off poverty and not add to the aid being given because they don't care as long as it's not them who's being affected.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteWe must care because, as I've discussed previously, I don't really think anyone else does. Of course I'm making a massive generalization, but I'd be willing to bet that for the mostpart, the world of today is content to allow the idea of poverty to slip their minds. If they won't deal with poverty then, who will? The answer has to be us. We've been educated; we now have a responsibility to act. We know the cold hard facts, we've seen the chilling numbers, and we don't like what we see. We, as a group of people, need to care about those who are in poverty because we don't want to tolerate the death of a human being from PREVENTABLE causes. The most disgusting part of these statistics is the fact that most of poverty-related causes of death didn't have to happen in the first place. We care because we accept that there is a certain standard of life—everyone deserves a chance.
I agree with Denomie when she says that the path out of poverty is education. In educating those who are in need, we give them a stable source of income that they know will arrive at a fixed time bi-weekly, or however their salaries are devised out. No longer are they fighting to make it to the end of the day, but they have something that is sustainable. They don't need to fight. They need just continue on. By ending poverty via education, we end generations upon generations of struggle.
We, the world, have enough wealth to eradicate poverty. We have enough resources to supply everyone with necessities. We can make the changes. So why is it that we haven’t? Why don’t we demand such action from our world leaders? Because the people don’t know their own power!
ReplyDeleteIt is up to all of us to demand what we want. In this case, to demand budget reforms. But do we? Some of us do, but most of us don’t. In order to succeed in making a change we need two very essential components- unity and commitment. So why do we lack these necessary components of change? In my opinion, it is because of our familiarity and unfamiliarity with a cause.
With the issue of poverty in mind, our familiarity with the cause is the fact that we are so “used to” the concept as a regularity in global society, just like Brogan so perfectly explained. I will not re-state what he already has, but simply reinforce that this is a huge component in the standstill of poverty. It has extensive history as being an accepted part of societies. Because the wealthy are accustomed to this, they do not use their power to change it.
The other key factor that needs to be addressed is the unfamiliarity with poverty in societies. Where extreme wealth exists people’s day-to-day lives go by without even considering the state of other people’s situations. Wealth is plentiful in places like Rossland and it is in these communities where people are not exposed first hand to the horrific effects and amounts of poverty. This lack of contact with those in dire need allows the average one of us to forget about the issue of poverty on a daily basis. Occasionally we are reminded when we receive information about our sponsor children in the mail or receive phone calls from charities, but the average day is free of such reminders. The ignorance, forgetfulness, and/or lack of exposure is a major issue because it is the wealth and voice of the sheltered and disconnected that we need to make a change.
Like both Brogan and Denomie, I also believe education is the key to ending poverty. However, they both mentioned educating those in poverty to help them climb up out of it, but once again I believe there are two aspects that need to be addressed; “their” education and “our” education. They have both addressed “their” education, but in order to fully eradicate the issue of poverty I believe the education of the wealthy must also change. Education must rid the wealthy of unfamiliarity and connect them with global issues.
Poverty can be beat, the question is are people willing to help? I think that people see poverty as such a huge issue that it scares them away, they feel it’s too big to be stopped. There are 1.8 billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day, there are thousands of children who can’t attend school because they need to support their family by doing dangerous, hard labour.
ReplyDeleteThe facts in this booklet about poverty are very surprising, and also very sad. We are so privileged to live in Canada, and I always try to remember that, except sometimes it is easy to forget that our issues are nothing compared to the 800 million people who go to bed hungry every night. I think it is absolutely disgusting that $17 000 000 000 are being spent on pet food in Europe and United states alone every year. It would only take an annual investment of $19 000 000 000 to end poverty. Obviously we need to feed our pets, but don’t you think that some of that money could be better spent on ending world poverty? Brogan I agree, it really does open my eyes about how money is spent in the world and how it could be put to many more better uses.
In some ways poverty is declining, but other factors are making it rise in some places. The amount of people living on less than $1.25 a day dropped 4 billion between 1990 and 2005. Yet there are factors that are reversing the actions of aid organizations. The economic crisis that the world is in is expected to push more people into extreme poverty in Asia, Eastern Europe and sub- saharan africa by 2015. There are many organizations working to help eradicate poverty, but there are some charities that keep nearly all of the donations for playing employees and advertisement. The key is to find a charity and where your money is really going to go.
I believe that all of you are right about education, it is proven that girls who are educated are much less likely to become pregnant very early in life and be dependent on a husband. If girls are educated they can also contribute more to the income for a family. Sam I like your point about educating the wealthy people, if they aren’t educated on the issues then they how will they be able to help?
Brogan I think you are right about if we don’t care then who will? Of course we don’t know that for sure, but it makes sense. If people really did care enough then the issue wouldn’t be so bad. Many people may care but they don’t do anything, that’s why we need to take action. We know about the issues, know we need to teach others about them too. The more people educated on the issues, the more people likely to take action.
Poverty, it has always excisted, but in todays world it has become more prevalent and there is more of it now than ever before other than during wars and other conflicts.
ReplyDeletePoverty can be wiped out but I don't think it will. I Realize that is a terrible thing to say but i believe it is the truth. In 2012 the top 100 richest people collectivly made 240 billion dollars, if they dolated just one years profit it is enough to erase extreme poverty. That is just a crazy thing to think about. Will that every happen, I doubt it because greed consumes people, and there is no way that those 100 people would give up that money. As much as I would like to blame everything on the rich being greedy, I can not.
Government and society help continue the problem by casting out those in poverty, and by not helping get those people back on their feet and back into society.
As well, there is the organizations who provide aid or claim to. They need money to pay there workers as well as get a pretty good salary, and they need money to run the company. There are also scams that say they give money or aid, but really just pocket the cash and walk away. So all that money people think is going to help the impovrised may actually not be.
Some people just don't believe it's their problem so they don't do anything about it. It might not be their problem but hopefully people have a little caring, dignity, and compassion for those less fortunate.
I still don't believe we will ever remove poverty, but hopefully one day I will be proven wrong.
The cycle/trend of poverty worldwide is a very saddening one to see. We live in a world that is growing exponentially. World leaders recognize this, and have harnessed it. Many countries financial resources aren’t being invested near as much as they should be in eradicating poverty. Instead, money is being invested in expanding natural resources in an attempt to make the country richer through exportation. Unfortunately, this often times leads to an imbalance of wealth and power in a country. Resulting in the rich becoming richer, and the poor being driven deeper into poverty.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unfair to ask why poverty isn’t declining with all of the aid, organizations and resources available. We've all seen the statistics of the millions of dollars being poured into poverty eradication through charities and organizations etc. We also know poverty is the reality of billions of people around the globe. Therefore, instead I think we should be asking ourselves this: Why is our population continuing to grow at such an alarming rate, when we know this planet has a carrying capacity. By continuing to grow at this rate, we are guaranteeing that there will be billions of the future generations in poverty. In my opinion, the reason poverty isn’t decreasing isn’t for lack of effort! It is because the worlds population is increasing too much too quickly. This trend puts more people into poverty than can be supported by organizations. So what can we do to stop this trend? As it turns out, education is the not-so-surprising answer.
In this video Hans Rosling explains that as countries are becoming safer, and people more educated, family sizes are getting smaller, and life spans longer. (If you have a couple of minutes, I will post the video link below, it is a very worthwhile watch.) As people, women in particular, in developing countries are getting more education (very much due to organizations) family sizes are getting smaller, life expectancies are going up, and deaths related to HIV/AIDs are going down. As Hans says in the video, the only way to stop population growth is to have small families. It is my opinion that once the population levels off, we will be able to bring down poverty levels substantially. Thankfully, as many organizations are bringing help and education into developing countries, this population goal is becoming more realistic.
In conclusion, I think there are tremendous leaps being made towards eradicating poverty. Just because these leaps aren’t visible in statistics does not mean they are not real. True and permanent changes happen over time, as a result of much hard work. It is young people like ourselves that will be carrying on this work, and seeing it through. I believe we can and will end poverty.
http://vimeo.com/2905893